


Divergent

by NadoHunter



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: (most likely), Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Master/Servant, Sad with a Happy Ending, Science Fiction, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-26 00:26:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9853613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NadoHunter/pseuds/NadoHunter
Summary: He ran... faster than he ever knew was capable. He might have thought he could fly if he hadn't known better. For an instant, he was free, before it all came crashing down.---This is a SebaWill SciFi!AU. Enjoy!UPDATE: All of the chapters so far have just been edited for continuity and mistakes





	1. Flight

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually an idea I've had floating around for a while now. I just hadn't quite figured out how to put it into words yet. Planning on this being an ongoing series exploring the Sebawill relationship with this Owner/Android relationship. So we'll see! Enjoy!
> 
> UPDATE: All of the chapters so far have just been edited for continuity and mistakes. -The way I write is I just sort of start, and just go for it. I didn't have an idea of where I was going with the story until about mid-way through chapter 2- Even if it's un-edited, posting what I have so far makes it so i'll actually keep writing and not leave the story hanging.

It was a cold, wet night in the big city. The back ally streets were relatively empty and calm for a few sweet moments, a stray cat was innocently chewing on a recent kill, picking apart a rat for all it was worth, toying with it, and playing with it.

That was until a rather fancy leather shoe broke through a previously calm, still puddle. Red and blue lights blazed angrily, reflected in the now scattered water. A tall man skid desperately around a corner, nearly slipping and falling. He wasn’t the type for running, but he pushed his joints with every fiber of his being to move the way he wanted them to.

He could hear the sound of high pitched sirens blazing in his ears, a voice announced through a megaphone to the nearby residents that there was a “divergent” nearby. Another voice the man supposed was his own told him to keep running, conflicting with another thought to turn back and comply.

He felt something give in his legs that shook him to his very core… but he didn’t fall, he was now running faster than he ever had in his life, faster than he ever knew he could. Breaking through the air, his hair was whipped out of its formal style. His dress shirt caught on the pole of a shoddily maintained ladder, but he didn’t care, he kept running as part of the fabric was ripped away from him. The smiled wildly, insanely as the sirens grew farther and farther away, he decided to take some completely random twists and turns to make sure he lost them for good. He was running, he was free.

He wanted to push further…. Further… go faster and faster… fast…. Then that was it, his limit had already been breached, and his legs creaked under him, freezing up sending him falling to the ground and alarms swarmed his head that a crucial joint had been broken. His smile was wiped from his face before he even hit the ground. It wasn’t long before the sirens caught up to him. He heard the relived sighs of the human figures rushing towards him.

“Thank god, I thought service androids weren’t supposed to run that fast!” A young voice quipped.

“They aren’t, that’s why it’s a divergent.” A young women’s voice responded smoothly. 

The android felt a burst of electricity surge through him, shorting out his main systems. He was frozen, all he could do was listen and watch as they scanned him, poking and prodding him at their leisure.

“Well, least the owner will be happy, from what I can tell, it’s a newer one.”

He was lifted and placed carefully into a box like a precious jewel. Padding of Styrofoam peanuts surrounding him. The top was shut on him and he was plunged into complete darkness. He lay in silence, doing nothing to resist his programs being reset. Core system being turned off and on again, and receiving a healthy dose of nano bots to repair the broken metal in his strained joint.

He didn’t move, and kept his eyes shut until he heard the voice of his master calling him. “William.” The smooth British voice said sternly.

He slowly opened his eyes. They shone an extra bright unnatural green to differentiate him from the humans around him. He immediately bowed his head in shame at his owner’s annoyed glare.

“I hope you realize the trouble you’ve caused me. If you had needed to be dismantled…”

A stroke of fear surged through William’s processors. “I’m very sorry. There was an error in my Persona program that interfered with an update for Ava. I have been rolled back to Ava 5.3.02 until the conflict is resolved.” He stated straight faced, right back into wanting to make sure he didn’t displease the one who had paid for him to be alive and talking right now. He wouldn’t want to be ungrateful.

His owner sighed, brushing a strand of his raven black hair behind his ear in irritation. “Do be careful with your updates, if it happens again, I _will_ have to have you taken apart” He spoke calmly, but firmly.

“Yes sir. I respect your decision to enforce the user agreement.” He stood up straight, adjusting his uniform so not a single thread of cloth was out of place.

He sighed. “Just get me some pain killers will you? This whole ordeal has given me a massive headache.”

William nodded politely “Yes sir” he stated before walking off to fetch the item. He straightened his glasses as he walked. An article that William had pondered many times just _why_ such an accessory had been requested for him to wear. It didn’t serve any useful function really, however he found Sebastian Michaelis to be quite the enigma from the moment he first opened his eyes to be greeted and assigned to his first tasks.

He pondered, for not the first time as he fetched the bottle of pills, just why certain traits had been chosen for him. He had his emotional expression turned almost all the way down, and odd choice as most humans found an android who was un-expressive to be unnerving when they were posted in the hallways. He had noted humans seemed to enjoy the odd smile or cheery grin when passing by someone to alert them that their intentions were not in the name of harm.

“Here are you’re pills sir, I am once again sorry for the discomfort I have caused you.” He said plainly.

“mmm…” Sebastian mumbled as he took the pills and continued his work. Planning to stay up for a while it seemed.

“Please alert me if you need further assistance sir.” He spoke as he put himself into his standard position along the wall of the warmly lit room.

Sebastian didn’t regard him, but he didn’t expect it. He watched Sebastian as he worked, thinking about his actions earlier in the night. He knew he had felt _something_ and he knew it made him smile. But his memory had been wiped clean of the feeling, and now was only replaced by shame to put him back in his place. He couldn’t even remember what had sparked him running in the first place. He supposed it would be against his owner’s wishes to think any further on it.


	2. Turn it Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William has been returned to his owner, safe and sound, and continuing his duty of catering to his every need. However, William admittedly finds the man hard to understand.

William thought about many things as he monitored Sebastian’s cool breathing and steady heart rate. It was his duty to know his master’s desires, exposure was the best way for him to form the proper pathways in able to further suit Sebastian’s wants and needs.

Currently, he was calculating the amount of hydrogen atoms in the air around him to kill time, however, he couldn’t help but watch Sebastian’s smooth face as he worked. He wasn’t necessarily programed to notice such things, as the data was considered to have no purpose. Nonetheless, He watched how he would occasionally raise one eyebrow as he thought. He found himself intrigued with the man’s subtly expressive face. Without much calculation William found himself trying to copy the motion. He slowly raised one eyebrow. Wondering what purpose the facial expression had. He wasn’t getting it. Maybe he was moving the wrong eyebrow? So he tried the other one.

No… he still didn’t get how this specific expression was useful for Sebastian’s thought process.

Sebastian itched the back of his neck and slowly looked up, feeling the droid’s eyes on him. He stared at him a bit shocked when he realized he was being stared at with a single eyebrow raised. Like it was _thinking_ something. He shifted uncomfortably. William immediately lowered his eyebrow, returning to a natural expression looking as if he had become suddenly aware that he had done something wrong.

Intrigued, Sebastian stopped truly paying attention to his work, and just ever so slightly stuck the tip of his tongue out of his thin, yet smooth lips, ever so slightly. After a few moments he stole a glance at William, once again finding him staring. Yet, this time, it seemed he was just ever so slightly sticking his tongue out of his mouth. Sebastian couldn’t help himself. He inwardly laughed and retracted his tongue. After waiting for the time to tick on a little longer, he attempted something a little more extreme. He pretended to look at something as if discussed, or horrified. He raised his eyebrows high, scrunched up his nose and sneered in a purposefully dramatic way. Low and behold, his android made the same expression. Imitating him as best as his own facial features could.

Sebastian broke his façade and chuckled heartily. Seemingly confusing William judging by how he relaxed his face and tilted his head to one side, trying to process his owner’s sudden laughter. Was he laughing at him? Or perhaps around him?

Sebastian got up and walked over to William in just a few brisk strides. “Are you imitating me?”

William’s circuits whirred for a good solid 30 seconds. He couldn’t lie, but he didn’t really want to confirm the claim. Despite the resistance, Fidus 4.3.2’s program overwrote the desire to lie and he spoke plainly.

“Yes sir.” He admitted.

“May I ask why?”

Was he in trouble? William pondered. He already found his owner hard to read and predict, had he messed up again? And so soon?

“I was trying to understand what your expressions add to your task at hand. Forgive me if it was rude.”

Sebastian chuckled and leaned on the wall beside William, crossing his arms. “Was I raising my eyebrow and staring that scarily?” He smirked.

William stared at him panicked. “I may have not entirely replicated the motion accurately, as my facial features do not perfectly match yours.”

“Well certainly, I’m sure that my features could never be perfectly matched.” He boasted. “Why, the precision it would take to recreate something already so gorgeous…”  He boasted proudly.

William opened his mouth to point out that current scanning technologies would be able to recreate pretty much anything, and that: As a human, he inherently had some key “flaws”, but he stopped, realizing it might not be wise to damage his owner’s ego in light of recent events.

“I’m sure sir.” He said, going with a non-specific answer. He paused, scanning back over their conversation. “Sir, did I truly scare you with my replication of your facial features?”

Sebastian scoffed. “ _I_ don’t _scare_ easily. However, initially before becoming amused I did feel uncomfortable at being stared at.” He shook his head to one side, flipping his hair out of his face and smiled again. “However, it’s not entirely your fault. Your face could be described as looking rather intense most of the time.”

William blinked. If his owner thought he looked so intense, why did he request him to look a certain way? It seemed a paradox to him. Did his face look scary to humans? He looked at Sebastian, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “Intensity is not the intention, however, if this was a concern then may ask why you asked for these specifications in my appearance?”

Sebastian suddenly frowned. William assumed he must have said something horribly wrong. He immediately tried to correct himself, opening his mouth to apologize when his master held up his hand. “I have my reasons… Perhaps I’ll be able to tell you someday if things go well.”

William tilted his head to the side, this time furrowing his brows. He wasn’t sure what he had said wrong, but he made sure to integrate the idea not to bring this subject up again.

“William, open your personality settings and make a change for me.” Sebastian suddenly asked, seeming as if he had just had an idea cross his head.

“Yes sir.” William paused, accessing his personality settings. He was sure that maybe he would end up being told not to ask so many questions, or imitate Sebastian’s facial features. “My settings are open.”

“Turn your pride up a little.” William looked at Sebastian questioningly, but he complied. He supposed his owner must just like his android to have a specific personality type. Perhaps it was an attraction thing? He was programed in many techniques if he was asked to perform such deeds.

“My pride trait is now at 23%.” He informed.

“More.” Sebastian said coldly.

“Master…?”

“Turn it up to 75%.” He glared forward, seeming completely determined.

“Sir, I will comply with your order, but I must warn you: High setting on any trait in this unit may result in unfavorable behaviors as it can create conflicts with certain program-“

“Just do it William.” He spoke sternly.

William hesitated, but went ahead, briefly wondering if this could have been a cause of what had caused his malfunction the other day. Using Sebastian’s command as the input, he rolled the trait up to the rather high “75%”. As soon as he confirmed his settings, it became a very interesting experience. Suddenly, being in Sebastian’s sizable home, and serving the relatively wealthy man… he couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but he stood just a little taller, tilting his head up slightly.

“It has been done sir.”

Sebastian nodded. “Right… good.” He walked back to his work, mumbling _“Ridiculous… no… no We’ll see. We’ll see.”_

William was admittedly curious about the man’s mumbling, but he supposed he wasn’t necessarily supposed to worry about Sebastian emotionally, so he dismissed it. He instead returned to standing still. This time calculating the number of carbon atoms in the surrounding air, and standing proudly like an award. Nobel. Proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is admittedly a fic that's a little slow to start, but I can promise that things are going to start picking up! :)


	3. Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Computers can't solve everything, especially seemingly illogical beings that speak in vague non-committal language. William is starting to be put through changes, and ones that he can't possibly understand, and for what purpose?

William brought in the steaming cup of Lady Grey Tea in a sizable teacup. His master preferred his tea black, without any cream or sugar. He had stated he found the natural bitter taste of tea more appealing than trying to cover it up with sugar, or dilute it with such a creamy flavor. Sebastian took a long deep sip of it. He watched as William made his way to the other side of the room and began wiping the dust clean off the dark mahogany bookshelves. Feeling the hot liquid stream down his throat and land in a warm pool in his stomach, he finally spoke:

“William. Open your personality settings.” He said it hurriedly, but coldly. The same way he did the previous day.

William paused and turned towards him. “They’re open sir.” He couldn’t help but wonder what this new trait could be, and the kind of feelings that would come with it. However, his logical processors began ticking away. Wondering why all of his personality settings were requested to be set so low in the first place, and his expression of the resulting emotions was turned down even further.

“Turn your arrogance up to 40%, your seriousness up to 80%, and your Neatness up to 75%” He said, listing out very specific numbers from something he had written out. On his note program it seemed.

William looked a bit stunned. “This is… _highly_ usual sir. I’m going to need you to voice-authenticate this action.” If he didn’t know any better, Sebastian was trying to make him entirely _flawed_. He just couldn’t see the logic in spending so much on a high-function service android like him and putting _these_ kinds of settings into him. Some people would just opt to have any “negative” personality programs not installed at all.

“Right. M-E-P-H-A – 1.” Sebastian announced clearly.

As soon as access was granted, and he confirmed the changes. The new traits came online and started to take effect very quickly. William paused, staring straight forward as several cooling systems kicked into to keep him from overheating from all the data downloads and neural pathways being formed in his programs. As soon as he was done, he looked around at the room again. Noticing a lot more things than he did before. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he saw several files that Sebastian had left hanging around, open, floating, casually turning in their digital projections. Was it really _that_ hard to just turn off your folder holograms when your done with them?

He could tell a few dormant programs were coming back online. As he walked over hurriedly to close the hologram file, he felt an unexpected, and completely random connection form between his personality database and his speech pattern matrix.

“ _Honestly_ ” He announced with a touch of annoyance.

Sebastian froze, turning towards him. “ _What_ did you say William?” There was… something in his voice. It wasn’t immediately identifiable. Hopefulness perhaps? Or could it be fear?

William paused, looking at him and blinking. “Sorry. Do you not wish me to use that word? I can erase it from my…” He stared, preparing to dismantle the newly formed connection.

Sebastian stood up hurriedly “NO! No…” He paused. Collecting himself. The android couldn’t understand at all the sudden change in demeanor. But he seemed to be witnessing that a lot the last few days. He was thinking about it often, but he hadn’t completely figured out Sebastian’s intentions.

Sebastian continued “It’s completely fine. Just…” He trailed off. Looking frustrated and doubtful. He walked calmly to William and looked him in the eye. “Would you say it one more time?”

 _“What an odd request. What’s so special about that word to him?_ ” He puzzled.

“Honestly?” He spoke slowly, unsure.

“No, like you did before….” He whispered. Sebastian was staring down. His face unreadable in terms of his feelings. It had gone blank.

 _“Perhaps this man has some sort of strange fetish?”_ William theorized. However, a brief search proved this probably wasn’t the case.

“ _Honestly_.” He announced clearly, emphasizing the syllables in the same way he had the first time.

William saw Sebastian’s fist clench, his whole body growing tense. William couldn’t quite decipher if he was angry, sad, confused, frustrated, or all of the above. He made the first helpful suggestion that came to mind.

“Do you need your shoulder’s massaged sir? You seem entirely too tense to do your job right.” He said, inadvertently sounding condescending at the end. He froze, wondering what made him inclined to talk like that. “Excuse me… sir…. I meant you seem rather tense, would you like relief?”

Sebastian looked up. Giving William a melancholy smile. “No… I’ll be fine.”

“Yes sir.” William nodded and returned to his cleaning duties. Truly… he really didn’t understand his owner.

\--

“Sir?” William asked as he walked into where Sebastian was reclining on the leather, incredibly comfy couch.

“Hmm?” Sebastian replied lazily, seemingly having been deep in thought.

“Am I attractive to you?” He asked bluntly.

Sebastian eyes widened. “Why do you ask?”

William walked around to sit politely across from Sebastian as he sat up to look at him. “I have been trying to decipher possible reasons for the recent increase in changes to my personality. It seems only fair for me to know…” He trailed off, his dialogue had slipped into being condescending again.

“Yes your attractive to me.” Sebastian said a little too blandly than the subject might have sugjested.

William nodded, so these changes had to be because it was a personality he was attracted to. Well, at least he could confirm that theory and not leave it hanging. That sort of thing drove any android nuts. Did Sebastian like condescending people? He wondered about why a human could like something so unagreeable. It still didn’t seem right to him. He made the next logical leap, and moved to sit beside Sebastian on the couch.

“Do you wish to engage in sexual intercourse?”

Sebastian bit his tongue suddenly and began to cough on the very air around him.

“No. No No. I don’t… no.” He responded between coughs.

William furrowed his brows. He didn’t understand this at all.

“If I am attractive to you, why don’t you want to have sex?” William asked simply. It seemed so logical as far as he knew.

“That’s… not entirely how that works.” Sebastian said as he once again collected himself into his more distant demeanor.

William thought for a moment, before coming up with a new hypothesis.

“I see… so you are _attracted_ to me, yet do not _sexually_ desire me?”

“No I do! It’s just…”

“Well than the logical conclusion is to remind you that I am at your disposal, and I am well versed in many tecni…”

“I _know_. But it isn’t the time for that… you… you’ll understand later.” Sebastian massaged his hands, looking as if he was holding back a certain amount of irritation.

William huffed. What did that even mean? What was the point of putting of that information to a later date. He only got more questions! No good answers. And just when he thought he had gotten a strong answer for an unknown.

He adjusted his glasses. He typically would pinch the side of the glasses and simply put them to where they wouldn’t be sliding off. Yet this time, unintentionally he found himself pushing them up with his middle finger.

“ _Really_ Sebastian you’re entirely too vague and confusing.” All of his systems came to an instant halt.

Did he just refer to his _owner_ , his _master_ by his first name? The disrespect! The shame! That was one of the big things not to do in his internal guidelines, why it was number 2 on that list he was sure. Or at least he thought, he couldn’t seem to find where the folder was. Another cause for concern. His eyes darted from side to side wildly. Confused. Lost.

“F-Forgive me. Master… I’m sorry. I… I… I’ll do a full system’s analysis and find the faulty program….”

He felt terrified, he was going to be dismantled for sure! He wanted to run, as fast as he could and faster still! He moved, he was sure the whirring of a few internal fans were able to be heard outside of him. He was ready to bolt, when suddenly he felt Sebastian’s hand grab his. Not harshly, gently.

William slowly turned to him. Instead of seeing a face of anger and reproach, he saw a face that was emotional. His eyes seemed to shine a little brighter and become diluted. His features twitching a bit nervously as he pulled William’s hand close to him. Some sort of joy bubbling to the surface on a face that usually held a smirk or an entirely fake smile.

“William?” He asked hopefully.

William was confused now more than ever. He asked as if seeing someone for the first time in ages, trying to recognize if it even was them or not. He didn’t feel the need to run anymore however. He slowly tilted his head to the side.

“Sir?” He queried.

Sebastian’s face immediately fell. Turning cold and dropping William’s hand.

“No…. of course not. Idiot.” He stood up and walked furiously out of the room. Looking upset, uncaring as he disappeared into his own quiet dark room. Leaving the poor android completely perplexed as to what the hell just happened.


	4. Paradox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian is a paradox, basically a death sentence to any machine. His actions seem contradictory, and William is starting to over-heat.

William had the unmistakable feeling of guilt, stabbing at what would have been his gut if he had one. It was the automatic feeling, the horrible feeling that resulted if he thought he had displeased his owner in any way. It went against his licensing; it was worrying him to no end. After the confusing incident, Sebastian had become incredibly cold and distant, not looking him in the eye at any point. He had asked William to stand outside the door of his office instead of in the corner as he used to. William had run a diagnostic on the scenario several times, but came up with no possible answer.

The more he thought about it, the more his internal systems began to heat up. What the hell was he being punished for? He had no right! He can’t just act this way without an explanation, it just made no logical sense! William grit his teeth as his cooling systems tried to cool the rapidly heating system.

“ _He_ isn’t logical.”

It drove him nuts. He made the decision, he was going to find out what was going on in that man’s head even if… if he would be dismantled for it! Perish the thought…

He turned towards the door, gripping the handle. He paused. He _would_ be betraying a direct order. Was that really worth satisfying a logical error?

“ _Yes.”_ William thought.

He marched in, completely startling Sebastian as he stared wide eyed at the intruder, a tinge of anger already slipping into his eyes as William stormed up to his desk. He legitimately jumped when William brought his hands down on his desk, causing the wood to creak as he hit it a bit harder than intended.

“ _Sir.”_ He began almost sarcastically. “I know I might be dismantled for saying this, but exactly _how_ am I supposed to serve you properly when you’re leaving me with all these logical fallacies? I mean, exactly what did I do wrong? You touched my hand… then suddenly hated me?! Exactly what is going on in your head?! How do you expect me to interpret your insane mixed messages?” He lectured his owner as he unloaded all of the confusion, so it was clearly laid out on the table.

After he finished talking, his gaze hardened as a bit of fear drifted into him. Why had he said all that?! He wasn’t supposed to, dammit, this is what they warned about in the user manual about turning the emotional settings up so high. Especially something like _pride_.

“ _It’s his fault really_ ” William thought angrily.

Sebastian looked a bit bewildered at first, but soon returned to a natural expression. He got up, turning his work hologram files off and walked over to the large window that looked out over the bustling city. The air-traffic was high as the sunset and everyone was rushing angrily to get home.

“I don’t want you to serve me.” He stated quietly.

This simply kicked William’s confusion into overdrive. This was certainly _not_ in his end-user license agreement. He was sure he was about to over-heat at this rate.

“Then exactly _what_ am I here for?” He asked angrily.

Sebastian didn’t answer, he simply considered to stare at the chaos outside, un-moving, unblinking.

“Do you enjoy driving androids mad?” William continued.

“ _Sadist_ ” He thought despite several systems telling him he shouldn’t even think such a thing.

Still no answer, simply silence. It only served to annoy William more.

“Should I simply put myself in the storage closet and turn myself off then?”

Nothing but silence greeted him.

He couldn’t take it; this was driving him nuts. He wanted answers, not silence. He was going to have a mass-system failure at this rate. His cooling systems were whirring so loud; the sound was able to meet the air of the room. This whole thing was about as frustrating as being presented with a paradox. In fact, this whole situation felt like a paradox.

He was burning up; he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to avoid shutting down all together.

Without thinking, he blurted out…

“ _Sebastian_ , Talk to me!”

Sebastian’s head suddenly whipped around finally looking at him in the eyes. William barely knew what he said. His eyes felt heavy. He reached up to touch his face. Funny, he didn’t remember ever activating this sort of emotional feature. He started feeling funny. Ha-ha funny! His head grew bleary and heavy as the world started to tilt, and it all seemed to fall away from him. He found himself releasing a strained laugh as system after system shut down.

“Will-!” was all he heard before he hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The working title for this was originally "dreambot" since I first had the idea in a dream, and I thought that title was way funnier than it actually is.


	5. What Do Androids Dream Of?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William decides it's time to clear things up if he's going to function properly.

William was looking down at what seemed to be a warm cup of tea, he took a deep long sip, but the taste and the feeling seemed to be non-existent. He looked up, the whole scene around him out of focus and blurry. He heard a distant echo that sounded vaguely like Sebastian’s voice as something was slid onto his face, bringing the universe into focus. He knew at that moment he said _something_ in response, but he had no idea what. He saw his owner, looking rather comfortable and cheery sitting across from him. His lips moved, but all that reached his ears was a fuzzy echo, as if he was being spoken to through a tunnel, he couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Even though he could usually lip read, he couldn’t seem to do it here.

He slowly opened his eyes, he didn’t typically dream unless he was installing an update or doing a systems check, yet even then… the dreams usually involved sheep jumping over a fence, or a cow jumping over a moon. All pre-programed, innocent dreams.

He also had the odd experience of remembering the exact events that led up to him overheating and shutting down. Whenever an android had a full system error, they usually needed to be sent back to the manufacture to be reset.

Instead, he found himself laying down, with Sebastian’s hand at the side of his head, staring at him concerned.

“ _Yet another logical fallacy_.” He thought as he blinked, looking up into Sebastian’s eyes.

“William, are you alright?”

“I am functioning within semi-normal parameters… now.” He stated plainly, though still confused. He tried to keep calm, he didn’t want to overheat again, but this was all just so… odd.

Sebastian sighed, furrowing his brows and closing his eyes, seeming like he was trying to hold back frustration as well.

“I didn’t ask you if you were _functioning_ , I asked you if you were _okay_.”

William sat up, pulling away from Sebastian’s hand. He straightened his glasses that had fallen very askew as his eyebrow twitched. “ _Honestly_ , the two words basically imply the same thing. However, _fine_ , in idiotic simple terms… _I’m good._ ” He bit back. Great, he overheated and this guy was still being confusing and intolerable! I didn’t even feel guilty about it at this point! The trouble he had caused him… it still annoyed William to no end.

Sebastian looked at him sadly, which only served to piss off William more. Did this man not know how to _communicate_? Could he only express himself in far off looks and round-about statements that told nothing under the disguise of saying _something?_

“It’s _entirely_ your fault I over-heated, so don’t give me that look! You should take some responsibility!”

Sebastian’s eyebrows tilted up, looking at William almost… affectionately. More confusion! He was being aggressive! What kind of response was he giving him?!

“I apologize it’s just…” He began before reaching towards William and pulling a strand of his hair loose from its tailored form. William didn’t comment, but instead looked at Sebastian impatiently, hoping that he was planning on giving him _some_ explanation.

Sebastian sighed deeply. “You couldn’t possibly understand; you’re constantly teasing me…” He trailed off again, now running his hand through William’s hair, fully messing it up. William stared up at Sebastian’s hand, eyebrow twitching before he grabbed his hand, stopping Sebastian from continuing the rather forward, almost romantic action.

“ _Try me_ , you can’t possibly make any less sense than you do right now.” He stated plainly.

Sebastian sighed deeply and brought his hand down to his side. “William… we knew each other…before…”

William’s brain began ticking. Was something possibly established before the last time he was shut down and reset? He had known he had broken his programming that night… could it be his memory was erased of something between him and his owner? The thought crossed his mind that perhaps Sebastian had pushed William’s limits once before… maybe they had done something, unacceptable?

He scooted closer to Sebastian, tilting his head to the side curiously, immediately cooling down again. “Sir… could it be, your implying we had some sort of relationship at an earlier point?”

Sebastian suddenly gripped his shoulders. “Yes… yes, William, do you remember anything?”

William blinked. “Unless a backup was made, it is impossible for me to remember anything before the incident where I ran from your house.” He stopped, furrowing his brows. “But sir, my record of my “age” only dates back a few months, and that incident was two months ago. I’m almost certain humans take longer than that to form a relationship of the level that…” He looked back at the hand that had just been so carefully stroking through his hair, and then moved to move a few strands back into place. “…You are currently seeming to imply.”

Sebastian laughed bitterly. “That’s very true, it took us years in fact.”

William raised his eyebrows. Now even more questions filling his mind. He searched for a possible explanation. A light bulb went off inside of him. “Ah! Was I perhaps upgraded to a new form from an outdated one? A problem with corrupted data as a result?”

Sebastian opened his mouth, then closed it studying William’s face. Deciding to let the confused android have an eased mind. He took a deep breath. “Yes, that’s… about what happened.”

“I see…” William looked forward. “Well that solves things.” He finally fully cooled down as some of the logic errors were solved, relaxing him. He looked back at Sebastian disapprovingly. “However, you really should have just told me. Do you need me to go over the warning instructions for my operations?”

Sebastian released a small laugh with a slight huff, bringing his hand to his head. “No, no it’s fine. I know about the… risks. I should have told you, but I was sure it would… overwhelm you.” He said quietly. It was obvious he was still holding something back, but the android was too satisfied to pick up on it.

“You would not overwhelm me at all sir, I have a very large processing ability. The only thing that causes problems is paradoxes and logical fallacies, and even then, I will only overheat if there are too many layered on top of each other.” He explained plainly.

William then stood up and offered a hand to allow Sebastian to stand too. Sebastian gripped onto his hand and didn’t quite let go. Holding it as if it would be the last time he could.

William gazed at him curiously. “Do you wish to peruse a relationship once more?” The risks and taboo aside, the prospect did have him curious.

Sebastian grew annoyed and somewhat depressed about the cold robotic question that treated the whole thing as an experiment rather than a true relationship. “Er… no, I don’t think so, right now at least.” He stated, trying to hold back the sadness ebbing into his voice.

William nodded, almost cheerily. “I understand sir.” He pulled away from Sebastian’s, now limp, hand. The logical errors were solved, and he didn’t have to ponder Sebastian’s behavior too much. He couldn’t be happier. “As it is now 7:30, I will prepare your evening meal, it will be ready shortly. Excuse the delay.” He bowed and nodded just as he was programed to do, turned smoothly and left Sebastian alone in the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cold hearted William, Coooooold hearted. What do you expect from an android in these kinds of settings though?


	6. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian has been preparing for this a long time, so he better not mess it up now. How will this mess of an android fare against this determined human?

Sebastian sat in silence for a long time. What were you supposed to do when the man you spent years arguing with and despising, and then surprisingly loving doesn’t even recognize you? Treats the very idea of being with you as a social experiment?

He didn’t realize just how many hours had ticked by until the large wooden door had re-opened, and William, very properly told him his meal was ready. He sat up, wordlessly, only nodding to acknowledge he had been spoken to. He walked next to William as he was led to the dining room. Everything about the android was perfect. Sebastian envied such perfection. He often liked to brag and think that he was as perfect as anything out there. Undoubtedly, he was pretty damn flawless for a human, but he wasn’t above the slowly creepy wrinkles under his eyes that showed the tiredness that came with age. He was still very young, and yet, it seemed that his once youthful confidence and prowess had been slowly torn from him.

“ _I never thought William would surpass **me** in looks of all people._ ” He thought about it bitterly, but it might have been only because the man would never age, never have to worry about scars, or acne, or sun spots, or disease, or sickness, or any other thing that slowly wears down the body and soul, leaving a shell of what was once there.

Though, even if he need never parish or grow weak and feeble, William was still of a shell of a man.

“Sir, you have not yet ingested any food, is something wrong?” William’s voice broke through his train of thought, he realized almost amused that he hadn’t even realized he had sat down and started toying with his fork. How did it come to this? Where William was acting so dutifully dedicated to his “programming”, that calling him by his name was an anomaly, and his usual mannerisms were almost non-existent?

He wouldn’t give up though, he had to keep trying if there was any hope… any hope at all. Even if it went every law and regulation in the book. He had been studying, day and night for any possibility of recovering what he lost.

“I’m just frustrated, that’s all.” He said, holding back his determination from reaching the tone of his voice.

William furrowed his brows, frowning in concern. “Have I done something to upset you again?”

Sebastian almost became furious. It happened every time he did that. No matter how many times he did it, he would never be used to William, _his_ William, showing so much concern and looking so… _damn_ guilty all the time. It wasn’t like him…. At all.

“No, you haven’t done anything…” He drummed his fingers on the dark wood table. He was getting a headache.

“Dim the lights please.” He said as he rubbed his eyes with his other hand, trying to think. He knew what he _needed_ to do, and what it would require. He had been studying so long. An android’s neural net was just arguably more unstable and easily broken than the human brain. If he did one thing wrong, all of his efforts would have been pointless.

“ _It’s all there… inside him, I just need to take the right steps! I can’t mess it up again!”_ he thought angrily. He calmed himself, simply grateful the authorities hadn’t discovered the illegally implanted chip and taken it out. He nearly had a heart attack when William had gotten away from him.

He bit his lip. The theoretical books he had read on possibilities for artificial life were mind-numbing at best. He had been passing off the reading as “work” to William, even if William was relatively loyal to him, his manufacture could access _anything_ from him right now. He didn’t think he could bear to risk being put behind bars and to loose Will again.

“William, give me a list of all of your security programs.”

William stared at him for a long moment. He was sure the android was getting very sick of his odd requests, hell, it caused him to collapse last time. Sebastian looked at him firmly, keeping his cool. He would be more careful this time, but he wasn’t going to stop now. “ _Now or never_ … _I’ve already caused him to over-heat by delaying, I’ve got to try **now**_ ”

“ Vicus 8.5, Anti-Occupy 7.5.3 Beta, Oracle 3.4…”

“Okay, okay…” He held up his hand. “List them and, tell me what they do, I can’t remember off the top of my head.” He brought up his notes, moving his well cooked dinner aside, accessing them from the table there.

“Sir, I’m not sure you are entirely qualified to be able to have access to that information…” William said hesitantly.

Sebastian smiled, he had been waiting to hit up against something like this, he just had to ask the right questions. “Check my file Will, I have undergone extensive training in synthetic life programing. And I am currently registered with level 2 access, which gives me full access to any personally owned androids.”

William’s eyes grew wide as he confirmed the information. “When.. where did you?” It was obvious William had connected two and two together that he wasn’t working out in a massive manufacturing company as most people with such degrees and clearance would.

“I’ve been working on it for six years.” He was grinning now, the amount of time finally hitting him.

“I… I see… Vicus is an emergency protocol that will cause me to return to my owner if stolen, or if my owner is caught tampering with my programs without the proper clearance, I will be returned to the manufacture for disassembly. Anti-Occupy will automatically halt any unauthorized wireless transmissions in case of malicious intent or viruses… Oracle basically keeps all my thoughts and processes from bunching up and causing me to function slowly.”

Sebastian wrote down the name of the program and stood up. It was now or never, that had to be the problem. Or… at least the first of many. He knew he had been missing _something_.

“Alright, open up.”

William backed away from him, terrified. “Sir?!”

“Open.” He said marching toward him. “I promise you will be alright, you just have to open up.”

“May I ask wh…” He started.

“Open.” He said again firmly. He couldn’t let any error or reports of his actions be reported… if he got into William’s head fast enough.


	7. Reggression Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William may finally get answers about the enigma surrounding Sebastian's actions, but will he even be able to survive his own life?

Reluctantly William released the mechanism holding the access to his more sensitive device shut. It caused his face to split apart, exposing plethora of chips and wires, all streamlined, organized and smooth, a normal computer might have only needed a single chip, but for something as complex as him with a learning capability and mobility, he needed a _lot_ more than that.

What was he doing? For what purpose could a man shown to have been a prosecutor for most of his life gotten into tampering with artificial life? Did this have something to do with their supposed ‘relationship’? Was this why he had bolted before?

A stroke of fear hit him as the thought hit him that he might be shut off and never be turned back on.

Sebastian sat him down, and started moving several of his wires around. He didn’t much like it. Suddenly, he heard a laser cutter buzz on, and within an instant, he felt a program connection shut down, he saw Sebastian carelessly discard a small program chip. As soon as it was taken out, he automatically tried to send out a message about being tampered with…except he couldn’t. In fact, that connection had been completely severed. Normally people with this sort of clearance didn’t do this… normally…

_“Sebastian isn’t normal_ ” He reminded himself.

Then, Sebastian began tampering with his Oracle program, changing which files would be turned off and deleted. He then began using a tool specifically made for drawing artificial neural connections.

“Right…” Sebastian shakily closing William’s face up. “Change your personality settings again for me…”

William nodded slowly. “Yes sir.”

“Turn your emotional sensitivity up by 20%, but keep your emotional expression down. Turn sternness up to 60%, dedication up to 50%, and stubbornness up to 65%.” Sebastian read off the settings with a bit of amusement in his voice.

William hadn’t the slightest what was going on, but he complied as always.

“Are these changes meant for me to mimic a past program?” William asked as the settings started taking affect. His chest felt a bit heavy, but he couldn’t quite figure out why.

“You could say that.” Sebastian stated, watching William’s face closely.

“Do you always only half-way answer people?” William asked annoyed.

“You tell me.” Sebastian quipped.

William frowned at the irritatingly vague answer.

_“Ask a stupid question get a stupid answer I suppose_ ” He thought.

Suddenly he felt an unnamed, unknown program switch on. Everything stopped, something was wrong, something was very wrong… not… right at all. Something was being uploaded to the rest of his system, a massive file. He began to tremble. It was so much information… it was sending a cascade of forced neural connection, and then he had to process and understand the new information.

Sebastian took his hand and sat him down as the android twitched and shook, eyes darting around everywhere. He held the droid close to him, hoping to god that he wouldn’t end up shutting down or combusting.

“I know… I know… all those changes were to make it easier. It will be okay… just trust me…trust me Will”

William vaguely looked up into Sebastian’s face. Sebastian looked into the droids eyes, pain and fear wreking havoc across his narrow features. This feeling for William was as close to visceral, horrible, pain as he could get. He didn’t know what was happening yet, only that he was being changed in a drastic way. New connections being formed every second, a tidal wave rippling across every level of programming he had been built with. Every circuit in his body firing of at once, causing intense spasms in ever synthetic part. He didn’t understand, he didn’t know how to understand, he didn’t…

He didn’t pass out, but he felt suddenly as if he wasn’t in the room anymore.

“You’re intolerable” He found himself saying. “How can you be so full of yourself?” He was looking at a much younger version of Sebastian. He looked proud, almost too proud, it irritated him to no end.

“Being confidence in one’s own abilities isn’t a _sin_ William, Sorry for being more successful, do you need me to help you? Make you feel better?” He mocked

William glared at him. “Confidence isn’t a sin, but _Hubris_ most definitely is.”

“Your entirely one to talk William. I’m prideful in myself I will admit, but your on a whole other level. We’re not too different really.”

It felt like an insult, a horrible insult! How dare he imply they were _anything_ alike. “Don’t you dare put me on the same level as you _Michaelis_. We are _nothing_ alike.”

“Ha!” Sebastian laughed sarcastically. “You don’t call _that_ hubris or pride Spears? You are entirely full of yourself.”

“If I am so are you!” William bit, loosing his cool.

“I never said that I wasn’t.”

“Then why are you arguing with me? Don’t you have better things to do?” William found himself straightening his tie impatiently.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Sebastian smirked.

“Why do you insist on pestering me?”

“It’s called banter Spears, or can you not keep up?” Sebastian asked “innocently”

William pursed his lips, caught in Sebastian’s loophole, either they keep talking, or Sebastian would “win” and he’d never forgive himself.

He was in a new place. It was night, the moon half full, and the city quiet. Resting in the late hours of the morning.

His face was inches away from Sebastian’s, their breath intertwined in that moment.

“Why do you insist on torturing me? I… I hate it…” William spoke softly, instead of his usual harsh tone, he spoke in a quiet, sad, whisper.

“Is this really that horrid for you?” Sebastian brushed his hand across William’s cheek.

“It… It is.” William clenched his fists. Why did it have to be him? Surely this man was bad for him.

“Why Will, what’s so wrong about it?” Sebastian asked, alluring as always, his deep tone ringing through his ears like a siren’s song, threatening to pull him down into the depths of a heavy ocean, never to return.

“Because… I...” He could barely speak, this all felt so wrong, but so right at the same time. “I hate it, how you always seem to be in my thoughts, no matter how despratly I try to get away from you, I keep coming back. Even with how narcissistic you act… how you seem so evil at times it seems all you need is a mustache to twirl…” He smiled bitterly. Sebastian did already sit and stroke his cat not unlike a typically villain. “I hate that a part of me always wants to prove myself to you when you don’t deserve it. Or… perhaps I don’t deserve it…”

Sebastian was staring at him with his brows furrowed, looking conflicted, seemingly coming back from his previously over-confident demeanor as he watched William outpouring his thoughts to him. William couldn’t blame him, he usually kept this sort of thing to himself.

“And, I truly hate that I….” William clenched his teeth. The words carried such weight, he didn’t even know if he could bring himself to say them. Even with all the years they were at odds, William being an police investigator, constantly being pushed by Sebastian as a prosecuter to find incriminating evidence. Acting like he wasn’t “trying hard enough”, constantly baiting him into arguments just to piss him off, then talk to him oh-so-sweetly, as if he actually cared.

But it was his fault. It was all his fault. The man was contradictory, he didn’t make sense. All of his feelings around him felt weird and forign, but they were so alive that his chest felt about to burst each time his usually calm, cold, heart thumped angrily against his will.

Before William could say anything more, Sebastian took William’s glasses, pulling them off his face and folding them neatly. William stood lost, vision completely blurry. The cold of the air felt all the more obvious all of the sudden, biting at his nose and chapping his lips.

Then, suddenly, he felt the warmth of Sebastian’s hands cupping his cheeks. Despite not seeing Sebastian’s face, the contact just felt so…. Nice…

“What do you truly hate William?” Sebastian spoke sweetly, without the usual manipulative, cocky tone. It was softer, comforting, something William could see himself getting used to.

“I hate that….” He took in a deep, uncertain breath. “I hate that I love you. I hate it with every fiber of my being…” William admitted, choking back a heavy feeling that was emerging from the back of his throat, and a burning stinging at his eyes.

He didn’t see it coming, he had never even imagined he would speak these words to anyone, certainly not Sebastian Michealis, yet within a moment of finishing his sentence, Sebastian’s lips pressed against him, so warmly. It wasn’t the best kiss he had ever, or would ever have. It was cold, their noses were running, and their lips dry. But it was _real._ He stopped caring about weather this was a win or a loose, and found himself just enjoying the presence of the other, the contrast of warmth against the cold of the world. It was more than he could have ever asked for.

The pleasurable memory of being held, bodies making a mess of the smooth sheets. Both kissing and biting both lovingly and possessively. Neither one wanting to let go of the other, moans filling the air and small beads of sweat dancing across their skin. They were tangled in each other’s embrace. It was rare that William opened himself up to this kind of intimacy, but now he loved it, he felt it. Deep inside, all over. He was indulging in himself, in Sebastian, enjoying it like a rare desert, and he loved every minute… every second of it.

They lay in bed next to each other. Coming down off the cloud they were just on.  William had slipped his glasses back on, he was staring intently at the ceiling.

“Will… why do you hate the idea of loving me so much?” Sebastian asked. It was a heavy question but he asked it with an air of almost childish curiosity.

William took a deep breath. He wasn’t used to this level of expression, nor did he know how to approach it. He teased himself, thinking “ _Dear lord, I have about the emotional expression of a basic assembly droid, why is this so difficult? Especially with him.”_

“Simply… I’m almost certain your terrible for me.” He looked away from Sebastian’s gaze, unsure how much the statement would hurt him.

“Why?” Sebastian had a tinge of offense to his voice.

“Well, I’m not sure you know, but your reputation does precede you. I’m almost certain there was almost no one left untouched in your immediate social circle. You’re practically like some sort of demonic being, luring people onto the path of their demise. Whispering in their ear… speaking empty promises… can you really blame me for being certain that I’m just a game to you?” He still avoided Sebastian’s gaze, not able to look him in the eyes. Not because he was fearful he would be mad, no… he was terrified that Sebastian would look hurt or sad.

There was a long silence, and William heard Sebastian breathe in very quietly, almost as if he was trying not to breath at all.

“William…” He reached out placing his hand on the side of William’s head, lightly twirling the strands loose hair. “Look at me…”

William didn’t do much to resist, but he was forced to be confronted with Sebastian’s face, he did look upset, but he also seemed fierce and determined.

“William, have you ever been in love with someone else?”

William hadn’t quite expected that, but he answered honestly “Yes…”

“Have you ever had sex with someone else?”

“Yes…”

Sebastian nodded. “Have you ever felt so sure, in that moment, that person was the one for you? That you would never, ever, part?”

William glanced off to the side, other memories of past loves, both reciprocated and unrequited, or unadmitted, bubbling up in his memory. “Yes…”

“Well… look, William, I can’t guarantee the future. No one can. Yes, I’ve been around the block as people like to say. And I don’t think either of us can truly say that what is between us will last forever… or it might. But why live life believing in the worst? It hurts a lot sometimes, but it’s what reminds us that we’re alive.” He brushed his thumb across William’s lips, looking deep into his eyes. “But the one thing I do know for sure, is right here with you…” He looked almost angry as he continued, but it was a result of the passion he had flowing through him. Maybe it was the adrenaline of conveying his feelings for William, or the chemicals that were being released in his brain that was igniting this feeling between them, but right then… he meant it. “I love you… I truly do believe I love you Spears.”

William touched Sebastian’s hand. Perhaps he was right. This might not last forever, or it might go on for eternity, but either way he wanted to hold on to this moment for as long as humanly possible.

William suddenly smiled, causing Sebastian’s eyes to widen suddenly. There was more emotion and affection that he showed in that smile than William had showed on a daily basis for the past several years of his adult life. He then laughed, causing Sebastian even more astonishment. “You’re terrible.” He leaned his head to the side, kissing Sebastian’s hand. “Well… if we end this, if you respect me even slightly, at least have the decency to do it before sleeping with someone else. Don’t just leave me hanging if you lose interest. Can you promise me that at least?” He said with a long calm sigh, relaxing into the sheets and into Sebastian’s presence.

Sebastian smiled, pulling himself close to William, hugging him close. “Ah, I think I can promise at least that much”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt the need to split this up a bit. Forgive me!


	8. Reggression Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painful memories come flooding back, it's been a long time.

Years went by. Sometimes, they would end up yelling at each other. One marching out on the other, usually William as he didn’t always appreciate Sebastian’s naturally flirty and becoming nature. They seemed to keep coming back to each other for one reason or another. Sometimes their times together were filled with tears and angst. As they grew to know each other more, they found wonderful things about each other. Like that Sebastian was incredibly ticklish, or that William had a strong sweet tooth, especially when chocolate was involved. But also this meant they found out terrible things about each other. Raw, ugly things they usually kept hidden. William witnessed just how ruthless and sadistic Sebastian could be when he made enemies with another man in his workplace. Claude Faustus, who seemed to bring out the worst in Sebastian as they wound up in direct competition with each other on many occasions. William couldn’t say he liked the man much either, but it disturbed him when Sebastian would talk about just how he would rip the man’s heart out someday, even if he claimed he was just joking. Because “I just have a dark sense of humor Will, I don’t mean anything by it.” Yet sometimes William wasn’t sure if that was true, Sebastian became scary when he was mad or vengeful. However, on the flip side, Sebastian would be perturbed on just how much William would distance himself from any feeling or empathy. They had long arguments about William “not telling him what was going on inside his head”.

Sebastian would get furious, on the days when William would refuse to get out of bed. Would lock himself in their room for the sake of solitude. Sebastian was incredibly out going, and he came to resent how hard it was to go anywhere with William as the years dragged on.

“I told you Sebastian, I just don’t feel like it!”

“For the love of god William, we’d only be out for an hour! We have to get out of the house, I’m _suffocating_ ”

“Go on your own then if it matters that much.”

“The point _was_ that I wanted to do it _with_ you. It’s a nice day William! We don’t need to fight about it.”

“Sebastian, I already said I don’t wish to go out today.”

“You _never_ want to go _anywhere_!”

“That’s an exaggeration and you know it, just because I don’t want to go out _today_ doesn’t mean…”

“That’s not just what I mean! You’ll sit in bed all day! And you’ll hardly even talk to me! I might as well not even be there!”

“Well I’m _sorry_ your ego is hurt” William snipped sarcastically. “You know, maybe you don’t need to always be the center of attention? The universe doesn’t revolve around you!”

Sebastian growled angrily, not finding the words to yell back and stormed out. Leaving William to stew on his own, He didn’t cry. He refused to cry. He held it in. He’d rather feel empty than be upset about it. It was tiring, but it’s what he knew how to do.

Often times, whenever one would storm out, they would eventually come back, tail between their legs. Apologize, kiss, makeup. But the fact remained that even with each time they fought, everytime Sebastian prodded him. William refused to speak. At a certain point, Sebastian stopped getting mad, and instead just became increasingly worried. He would sit and beg for William to talk to him. Sugjested he go see someone else to talk to. He would sometimes bring home patches that were meant to stabilize one’s emotional state, but William rarely put them on without Sebastian trying to force him.

It was a long, dark night. As Sebastian sat, watching the door, banging his head against it, when he realized that the man he loved wasn’t going to come back that night… or any other conceivable night in the future. It was about 4:45 in the morning, when he was on the verge of exhausted tears that he got the call that his fiancé had jumped.

\---

William had been standing there, on top of the high building. Alone, a shadow among the glimmering stars. He was a burden… he didn’t deserve Sebastian. He didn’t deserve anything. He couldn’t even handle something so simple… Sebastian was right. He didn’t go anywhere with him. He was sure he was making his lover miserable, he would be better off without him, and it’s not like anyone would care. He wanted to cry, he wanted to call for help, he wanted to be back at his lover’s side. He didn’t’ know what he was doing, but it was so easy. _So, so easy_. He stuffed every scream, every sob down into his core as he usually did. Not feeling justified in feeling so horrid. The weight inside him simply made it easier to be pulled by gravity, and tip over the edge.

It wasn’t until he was about halfway down, as time seemed to slow down, that he wished he had stayed home.

 

William opened his eyes, back in Sebastian’s arms quivering as the tears he had held back so long in his human life came threateningly close to spilling out. He looked back at Sebastian who was still holding him and stroking his face.

It was surreal in so many ways. As he looked up into Sebastian’s face, he noticed the creases that had formed by his eyes, the strands of grey peppered in his black hair. How long had it been, Sebastian was looking at him so hopefully, but so tiredly. He thought Sebastian had aged handsomely but… he suddenly felt every little processor, he could calculate a millions of things at once if you wanted, it conflicted with his human memories, and he was incredibly aware that there was some part of him incredibly shocked he had once been human. He felt like there were two people in his body at once except… he was one whole.

He didn’t know whether to be mad… happy, sad, any emotion really.

“Sebastian…” he stared at his lovers face, looking for some sort of guidance… or something.

He then saw tears well up in Sebastian’s eyes. He was usually so vain if he showed such an “ugly” emotion as he used to call it, he would immediately cover it up.

“William… please tell me you….”

William sat up, uneasily… but he did. It was a lot, programming and humanity trying to sort itself out.

“I … I remember. Sebastian I…” He stared at Sebastian, not sure what to say. What do you say.

That night when he had toppled… somehow he couldn’t even imagine that Sebastian…. _Sebastian_  would go to such lengths, would do this, be sitting here, tired and weeping. Would essentially do this to himself to bring him… essentially back to life. Which begged the question, William began thinking: Was he… _really_ here. He had died, had no recollection of death, but here he was. He was alive, in a new suit as it may, but everything about him, his memories, the way his brain had been patterned, arguably everything that made him… William T. Spears had been replicated perfectly. He essentially had a new body suit for his soul… if he had one, and if he was not just a result of a cluster of neural pathways.

He certainly didn’t feel like that.

“Why… Will… I….” The man was beginning to spill tears uncontrollably. He had worked so hard for so long. They both wanted to say so much to each other, and yet didn’t know the words to speak.

“I just wanted to help you… why… couldn’t you talk to me? Was I really…. Was I really so horrible. I…” He stopped. “But, I don’t want to blame you… it wasn’t your fault, I’m sorry I didn’t understand sooner, I should have listened or… or… tried harder… I wasn’t there for you… Oh god! William, my Dove, I’m so sorry… I’m sorry!!” He wept, all of the guilt built up over eight long years spilling out as he sat in William’s presence.

William finally let loose. “No! Sebastian, I should be the one apologizing, I didn’t…. I didn’t think it would affect you that much.” He stated honestly. Looking at how such a vine pridefull was breaking down… he felt guilty that he had thought so lowly of himself and the world.

“How could it not?!” Sebastian cried, nose turning red and eyes looking horribly bloodshot.

“I simply… I thought you would be better off without me.” He felt tears starting to well up in his own eyes. They weren’t the same kind of tears he would cry in a human body. His eyes wouldn’t puff up, nor would his face grow red, nor would gunk start flying out of his nose in a bout of pure unbridled emotion the way Sebastian was currently doing, however, they were no less real.

“That’s not true! It never was! I admit it, I didn’t think we’d last in the beginning, hell, I’d never had a relationship last past a month, but with you it was different! You were good for, you were the best for me! I never had someone challenge me, or… or… love me the way you did… I… I didn’t know how to help! I tried Will… I tried why…”

William trembled. “I couldn’t! I… It was humiliating. I should have been able to control it! It shouldn’t have been a problem. I didn’t want to be weak and pathetic enough to have to get… _help_. I couldn’t deal with the thought, I should… I should have done it on my own! I couldn’t put that on you… it would be cruel and…” William stopped, losing his ability to speak fluidly. He felt so wretched, he didn’t know if he could bear it. He didn’t remember anything about death, or being dead, but he remembered the last feeling of wanting to be at home, with a warm mug of tea or cocoa, and marry the man who strangely stuck by his side.

Sebastian soon bent over, holding his head in his hands. Too tired to keep bawling. “I worked so hard… 8 years… Will… 8… years. It’s so illegal… but I just… I couldn’t bear it. Another year and I might have joined you.” He admitted.

William took Sebastian’s shoulders and kissed him, both their faces wet, and it was now _the_ worst kiss he could remember with both their faces covered in gross gunk. But it was definitely the most honest one they had ever have.

When he parted he looked into Sebastian’s wet eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask for your help… I know I could have gotten it… but I didn’t want to admit it was as bad as it was. I wanted to think that I wouldn’t let… _that_ win over me. But it did…”

He stroked Sebastian’s hair lovingly, causing the man to let out a deep shaky sigh, leaning into the feeling he had craved for so long. William then whispered against Sebastian’s cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much you loved me…”

Sebastian wrapped his arms around William, not caring how tightly he held him, just that he would never let him go, and never forget.

“I do, I did… and I will always, _always_ love you. You have that effect on me.”

William smiled and closed his eyes. “Same here… damn you…”

They sat in each others embrace, un-moving, long into the night, William eventually heard Sebastian fall into a peaceful sleep. He followed him immediately, though for him, he was turning off with a boot timer, but he was going to sleep pleasantly, dreaming of all the joyful memories he had almost forgotten in his last days with a new perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was emotional for me to write. I started tearing up when they were finally being honest to each other! This sort of sad idea is sort of built off the idea of how reapers are made in the original manga canon. I promise there's a happy ending to this.
> 
> Though I did get curious about the prospects of literally "bringing someone back from the dead" and the moral and philosophical properties of that. I'm not going to go super into it in this story. But I don't know, something to think about if you want to have some existential fun questioning the existence of souls and such. hahaha!


	9. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot to consider, but also a lot of time and lonely days to be made up for

William turned on before Sebastian awoke. He lay beside him and watched his face.

“ _What am I to do now… that I will outlive you?”_ William ran his hand through Sebastian’s hair. He smiled mournfully as he remembered how paranoid Sebastian had once been about every gray hair, he would carefully look through every strand for the silver strands and had always said he’d never let his hair go gray. Even though William thought he would look perfectly fine with gray hairs, or at least a peppered look.

” _You flatter me Will, but with your features, I think you’d pull off that look much better… no, youth suits me…”_

The memory echoed through his mind, Sebastian had always been so vain, so paranoid about keeping his looks… yet here he was, worn, his hair seemed a bit drier like he hadn’t been properly tending to it, split ends here and there…

“Was I really worth this to you?” William thought out loud.

Sebastian suddenly moved his head closer to him, smiling calmly, almost as if he was still dreaming. “Yes…”

“Sebastian… when did you become _not_ self-centered…” He teased, cupping Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian slowly opened his eyes and looked at him. “The moment I had someone I couldn’t bear to loose.”

“That’s incredibly uncharacteristically cheesy of you dear…” William chuckled.

“Maybe I’ve gotten old and sentimental,” Sebastian smirked.

“Oh, 40 isn’t _that_ old, it’s _barely_ middle aged.” William tried to reassure him.

“Mmm… I’m almost certain I look older… I’m old enough to be a _dad_ William.”

“Oh, how horrid. Somehow, I’m relieved you're as vain as ever.”

He held Sebastian closely, happy to be with him, but the more he thought about it, the more concerns he had… the more problems he could see arising.

“Sebastian… what do we do now?”

Sebastian’s smile faded, furrowing his brows, he knew he had to face this, but he had wanted to live in this moment without worrying for as long as he could.

“I mean, Sebastian, Being what I am… now… What you’ve done is incredibly illegal, not to mention morally objectionable…”

“Are you really surprised I’d pull something like that?” Sebastian sat up rubbing his eyes to wake up.

“Well, of course, I’m not _surprised_ , I was used to you pulling shady things in your prosecuting days, but I do hope you have a plan or two laid out… I’m a divergent, I’m going to outlive you, what am _I_ supposed to do if something happens to _you_? Where are we to go, even if you turned off my security, it’s not going to be long before someone in the company, or the government gets suspicious and…”

Sebastian held up his hand stopping William. “Dove… I do have a few thoughts on what to do. However... some… a lot of it depends on you… and what you decide.”

William blinked at him. “What?”

“I wish I didn’t have to say this, and I hope you’ll forgive me for my selfishness someday…”

He stood up, looking out the large window, the rising sun hitting his eyes as it streamed through, lighting them on fire. An old determination coming through once more.

“I successfully was able to download everything about you. It was risky, and I barely pulled it off… I even enlisted Grell’s help…. She’d be happy to see you, you know.”

“Grell? Grell was involved?” William stood and walked to Sebastian’s side.

“I had to pull what little strings I had… to be able to be in the room and have what was left of your body examined at all for the lone chance maybe your brain was… useable. Even if I had my issues with Grell… I couldn’t have done it without her. She herself, at your funeral was the one who silently suggested the controversial theories around downloading and recreating a person’s personality.” Sebastian smiled sadly. “We weren’t able to meet up a lot after we succeeded, we didn’t want to get each other in trouble.”

He turned to face William’s slightly stunned face. Grell had risked so much out of grief for him too? He couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Will… I can download, everything I’ve learned, all the research I’ve gathered, and the exact procedure I went through to bring you back. When I die… you can either bring me back… Or you can turn yourself off… forever with a kill switch that I can provide to you that will rupture your systems and corrupt all your memories beyond all repair so that the people who eventually take you apart will never know what transpired here.”

William grabbed Sebastian’s hand. “No! No...” he paused. This was all so much… even if he one day decided that forever was too long, after Sebastian had worked so long to see him again, and give him another go at life, damn the consequences, he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. “If… it means we can live a long life together… without one of us growing old and dying without the other. I will do for you what you’ve done for me.” He took a few steps closer to Sebastian, putting their foreheads together. “Besides… your vanity wouldn’t allow you to want to grow old anyway. Even if it’s perfectly normal and natural for everyone else.”

Sebastian smiled and laughed at himself, putting his hands on William’s waist. He had missed the feeling of a body to hold, eyes to look into. “You’re right… I can’t stand being _old_ and _slow_. I’ve envied how damned _handsome_ you still look right now.”

“You’re still handsome, a few wrinkles and gray hairs doesn’t change that.”

“Well sure… but it takes more time to… recharge, nowadays.”

William rolls his eyes. “You have to bring _that_ into it?”

“I’m just warning you… just in case…”

He pressed William up against him. Holding him tightly.

William put his hands on Sebastian’s chest, lightly stroking his chest. “Later…. We’ve already decided I’ll repeat the process, but where do I… We… go?”

Sebastian nodded, calming himself. “When I die, that’s when you contact Grell. If I succeeded, we talked about a plan where you, and her, would flee. There are only so many places where you could escape to safely out of government control. She said she would know where to go, and after what she’s done, I trust that she knows what she’s doing.”

William sat down nodding calmly, pulling Sebastian down to sit beside him. “I understand.”

Sebastian nodded. “It wouldn’t be long from now for me Will… if you had been for it to go this way… I had made plans to end things sooner rather than later.”

William looked at him panicked for a moment, before reminding himself, and calming himself, that this was the step they must take inevitably to start the next chapter in their lives, to be able to be truly joined again in the lives, after their human lives had ended. In a way, William was still on an entirely separate plane from his lover still. Were he not made of entirely artificial parts, he might have been a specter of the man, who fell from that building, alone on a cold night.

“Then, William, I’ll download everything to you know… then, tonight, dove, if you will allow me…” He took William’s hand and held it against his face, indulging in the physical touch. “Might we make my last few nights this way, something to be remembered?”

William nodded. “Of course… It’s going to be a difficult for me too…” He admitted.

“Then, let’s make haste, shall we?”

It didn’t take long before William had everything stored that he’d need in the coming years. As soon as they were done, Sebastian pulled William into his arms, kissing almost desperately all over his face.

“Sebastian! You’re not usually this affectionate!” William exclaimed against the assault.

“Do you know how much I’ve been holding back ever since I knew I was speaking to you?” He held William’s hips as William casually dropped his arms around Sebastian’s waist.

“I can’t even imagine, I’m just a bit shocked is all, I don’t think I remember a time you were like this.” He said lightly flirtatiously, giving Sebastian a bit of a smooth, coy glance.

“I don’t think I acknowledged I could lose you back then. I think you don’t appreciate the mortality of your life, and others until you’ve lost someone.”

“And yet, you’ve decided to cheat death?”

Sebastian raised his hands up, gesturing casually. “I can’t act _too_ out of character can I?”

“You sly devil.” William grinned and finally kissed Sebastian’s cheek.

Sebastian laughed deeply and heartily, anyone else would think the laugh was somewhat devious, but in this case, it was pure joy.

“William, I want to do every stupid, romantic thing with you that I regretted never doing with you before, I want to make up for all the times that one or both of us was too stubborn to take advantage of, the next few days while I’m still a sentimental human being.”

William sighed, this whole thing was entirely surreal, but he was willing to be able to make Sebastian’s last few days “alive” worthwhile.

“Very well dear, let’s do it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Infinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last days of Sebastian's human life are here, and eventually, William will have to escape into the stars and continue what Sebastian started, however, he won't have to go it alone.

The next few days could be equated to a human’s idea of heaven or the ideal afterlife.

 

The first night they held each other desperately, kissing deeply and savagely. A sort of carnal need inside both, more-so in Sebastian biologically, but William felt just as strong emotionally.

William was looking deeply into Sebastian’s eyes, watching him with heavy-lidded eyes, as he reached his hand down to pull out William’s member and begin stroking it. However, as William followed Sebastian’s arm down with his eyes, inevitably falling upon himself. He suddenly noticed something different.

 

“ _…Really_ Sebastian?”

 

Sebastian looked up at him perplexed, acting as if he didn’t know as he continued stroking it.

 

“Oh, _come on_ , have you no shame? I mean, I suppose I’m flattered but…”

 

“I don’t see what the _big_ deal is Will. Am I missing something?” He was clearly holding back a grin.

 

“That’s like a good two-inch difference Sebastian,” William stated as straight-faced as he could muster, a hearty laugh bubbling at the back of his throat.

 

“What? It’s exactly as I remember!”  Sebastian exclaimed settling himself between William’s legs.

 

William rolled his eyes, unable to suppress a small chuckle. “Well _thank you_ for thinking of me so highly I suppose.”

 

“Ohhh yeah.” Sebastian moaned slightly just to tease him.

 

“Jesus Seb…”

 

\--

 

When they were done, Sebastian prepared them both a meal like he used to, despite William’s lack of a need or want to consume food. Remembering Sebastian’s cooking ability, however, William was still excited to taste it again. Before, he might have watched Sebastian showing off with doing unnecessary flips of the pan with one hand or seasoning gestures just to show off with a bit of distaste, but now he sat and watched with a small smile on his face. Sebastian’s flourishes started to get more out there as he enjoyed the feeling of being watched and admired by William, excited that his “great ability” was bringing a smile to the man’s face. William was sure sautéing vegetables didn’t require trying to flip them several feet in the air, but hey… if he was happy, who was he to judge?

As soon as they sat down to eat William hummed in appreciation as he took the first bite.

“Perfect as always dearest.” He complimented.

 

Sebastian sat up a little straighter, massive ego thoroughly stroked.

 

“Well of _course!_ Thank you Will.”

 

About half-way through the meal, William took off his useless glasses, looking at them thoughtfully. Sebastian watched his every movement.

 

“I thought you always said you liked how I looked without glasses?” William asked curiously.

 

“I do,” Sebastian admitted

 

“Then why did you make me wear them when I don’t need them?”

 

“Because I like you with them too, besides… I suppose I got used to seeing you with them. It’s so rare that someone wears glasses most of the time if at all… you never did tell me why you didn’t get corrective surgery when your eyesight was so bad.”

 

William glanced off to the side, a bit embarrassed. “Well… see it’s…” He shuffled his feet slightly. “I just didn’t like the idea of a laser messing with my eyes.”

 

Sebastian nodded. “Ahhh, I see. I understand it was a bit nerve-wracking when I had my eyes corrected.”

 

William raised his eyebrows “ _You_ had to get your vision corrected?”

 

“I did, my teeth too.” He grinned, showing the perfect rows of pearly white teeth.

 

William nodded. “Are the slightly pointed canines to complete your villain look?” He teased.

“No… no, those were always like that.” He smiled.

 

“How am I not surprised?” William shook his head, returning his attention to the meal.

 

When he finished, he looked up suddenly realizing Sebastian had been staring at him and smiling contently.

 

They soon stood up together, leaving the dishes on the counter for the dishwasher to clean up and once again fell into each other’s arms. They tangled themselves in the sheets, kissing and holding each other. Sometimes playing stupid little loving wrestling games as their bodies tangled together. Continuing their fun deep into the night before finally falling asleep. Content in the other’s company, warmed by each other’s embrace.

 ---

 

The next day, it was a bit risky, but they dressed in their warmest clothing and decided to walk together hand in hand and see the sights, William had to keep his head mostly down and not look anyone in the eye for fear of being recognized as an android. They took the less busy streets to stay out of public eye. It had been William’s suggestion to go out since they didn’t get to do this after a certain point in the past. As they walked, Sebastian pointed out some of his favorite places to go, the encounters he had with people, the times he remembered spending with William way back when x building had been there. They came to one of the city’s parks that were greatly overshadowed by the immensely tall buildings, but in certain spots, under thick trees, you could imagine that the rest of the busy world didn’t exist.

 

They stood for a long while underneath a particularly large oak, out of view of passersby, softly kissing in the semi-fresh air.

 

“It will be nice living off planet,” Sebastian mumbled in-between kisses.

 

“Agreed, Earth has gotten much too crowded.”

 

Sebastian smiled. “Grell was trying to push for living in a remote part of mars.”

 

“Ah, that’s just like her…” William said as he ran his thumb over Sebastian’s lips.

 

They wanted to stay out later, seeing everything they could, but they decided it would be in their best interests to get home, so as not to increase the risk of being caught.

 

-

 

The third day came all too soon, but they pretended like it was just another day to spend together, they played several games, lay together, wrapped up in a blanket watching some of the films that had come out that William hadn’t seen, until, finally the sun had set, they had their last meal together, and they both sat across from each other, nervously. The previously cheery mood taken over by a strong sense of foreboding.

 

Sebastian rolled the little red pill on the table back and forth. “It will be quick and painless…” He told himself more than anything.

 

William reached over and grabbed his hand. “You’ll just be… asleep while you switch bodies…” He reached with his other hand and stroked a strand of Sebastian’s hair out of his eyes. “And I will be here when you wake up.” He said affectionately.

 

Sebastian nodded slowly, taking the small glass of water and lifting the pill to his lips, downing it in one gulp. William picked him up and took him to the couch in the office where Sebastian had spent years working on bringing William back.

 

The pill worked quickly, beginning to slow Sebastian’s heart rate down as he was calmed into a sleepy state. Sebastian began falling limp as William held his head.

William’s hands grew shaky as he kissed Sebastian’s forehead… even if this wasn’t the end, seeing Sebastian going still… and watching the light leave his eyes. With a last little gesture, Sebastian looked up into William’s eyes.

 

“I... love you...” He breathed slowly.

 

William only held him tighter. “Oh, Sebastian… I love you too… I will always.”

 

His heart stopped completely, and all brain activity halted soon after. William let go of Sebastian’s head, causing it to fall limply to the side. William almost started weeping over his lover’s dead body… but there was no time to lose. He had a lot of work to do.

 

\--- 

The most painful part was disposing of the body once he had safely pocketed the chip that stored everything about Sebastian on it. He told himself, that this body: Wasn’t Sebastian as much as his physical body was. It was the things that made him up, the things stored on that chip, his memories, his way of thinking that was him. The body… was more like a space suit that kept that person safe, and this one had simply stopped working.

 

That didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult.

 

He then sent a private message to Grell as he was instructed to do. “It’s me, it worked. I’ll meet you at the station.”

He packed a few things in a bag, and headed off, being sure once again to keep his head down, very vigilant of his surroundings. When he got to the station where several ships were traveling off-planet, he saw Grell, looking nervous and impatient with her bright red hair. He was admittedly overjoyed at the sight of seeing her alive and well. He walked over next to her quietly and then cleared his throat.

 

“Been a while, hasn’t it?”

 

Grell’s eyes grew about as wide as flying saucers, looking up at William who was trying his hardest to not look _too_ happy.

“Oh _Will!_ ” She threw herself upon him.  He flailed awkwardly for a moment before patting her head.

“Er um.. Yes, hello, Grell.”

She looked back up at him, straightening his tie excitedly. “It really _is_ you, isn’t it!? I don’t believe it!”

She was obviously having a hard time not squealing in excitement at seeing him again. A few little tears budded in her eyes causing William’s heart to melt. He stiffened and glanced off. “So how do we…” He started, wondering what sort of plan she had to get them off planet when William would lack a human identification.

She took a step back from him straightening her outfit. “Oh, I’ve got that aaalll lined up. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a _long_ time!”

 

“We?” William asked, raising one eyebrow.

 

“Eee! Oh, Will!” She exclaimed excited at seeing the expressions that she remembered so well flickering across the stern man’s face.

 

She took his hand, leading him to a ship at the very end of the station, it was smaller, looked like it was maybe used more for transporting goods rather than people. “Quickly…” she muttered as she dragged him into the ship. They were with three other pairs of eyes, all of which William immediately recognized.

 

They all blinked at him in shock.

William crossed his arms. “Ronald, Alan, Eric… what the _devil_ are you three doing here? I hope you know the kind of trouble you’re getting into.”

Grell grinned excitedly as the other three exchanged glances of shock and disbelief. Ronald was the first to stand, he launched himself at William, catching him off guard as he was tackled by the overjoyed man. The other two soon joined in, wrapping themselves around William, laughing and gripping the android excitedly.

“Could I just…” Grell said as she slipped under Ronald’s arm so she could get in on the hug-assault.

“He..Hey! All of you..!” William exclaimed under the compression from all the hugging.

 

“Boss! It’s really you!” Ronald shook William back and forth a bit.

 

“Knox! Argh! Geroff! All of you!” William lectured as his cheeks went a bit red from all the unexpected attention.

 

“Nah, you’ve got to sit and take it,” Eric stated.

 

“Yeah! It’s only fair!” Alan said nearly teary eyed.

 

“We ain’t letting you get away that easy.” Ronald grinned, gripping him harder.

 

“ _Honestly_ , and I believe you should say “We _are not_ letting you get away that easy” “ He mumbled trying to deflect off his embarrassment and not show how much he felt like weeping on the inside. They had all missed him. They _legitimately_ missed him.

 

All four of them laughed.

“Oh Will! I missed hearing you say that.” Grell swooned.

 

“Why do people keep saying that?” William wondered out loud, Sebastian had gotten so excited when William said it for the first time since turning on.

 

“Because it’s so _you_!” Ronald explained.

 

“Well then… I um... I can’t imagine what I did to cause you all to miss my presence, but I am… very humbled.”

 

They all seemed to gape at him.

 

“Are you kidding?” Eric looked so disapproving.

 

“Oh Willums, I always told you how much I adored you! I still do!”  Grell wept dramatically, gripping William’s gloved hand tightly.

 

“Yeah! Well, uh, I don’t know if I felt as strongly as Grell…” Ronald started scratching the back of his head nervously. “But even if you were kinda grumpy sometimes, We still liked seein’ ya!”

“Whatever gave you the idea that we wouldn’t miss you?” Alan asked worriedly.

 

“I…” William started, eyes darting back and forth as he thought about. “Don’t really know anymore…”

 

There was a long moment of silence as the awkwardly sad memories hung over the four of them until Ronald finally spoke.

 

“Alright, everyone ready to get the hell off this planet?”

 

“Yes!” Came the unanimous response.

 

They all settled in and strapped in as Ronald started up the ship, they all closed their eyes as they felt the pressure of leaving the earth’s atmosphere. William instinctively put his hand over the pocket holding “Sebastian” almost as if soothing it and protecting it. They didn’t leave their seats until they made the jump to light speed and the ships gravity settings stabilized.

“So where _are_ we going?” William asked as they all gathered together again.

 

“Proxima-Centauri!” Ronald announced. “The planet there is the newest Human colony, they’re practically giving away land and resources to people to get them to settle there. A lot of plants and animals flourish there! It’s practically heaven from what I hear.”

 

“I did my research! It has its own independent government made up of several people since it’s so far away from Earth!” Grell said proudly, pulling out her nail file.

“Yeah, they don’t even have a name for it yet.” Eric pointed out.

 

“Interesting.” William nodded. “Well, if we have the proper resources…”

 

Grell nodded. “We do… and I have something to show you Will…” Grell stood and took William back to the storage area of the ship, the rest followed behind, chatting amongst themselves.

She took him to a large container about the same size and shape as the one William had first arrived in. He knew exactly what was inside before she even removed the top.

He looked so peaceful and calm, Jet black hair neatly placed, not a gray hair within them, and not a wrinkle on his smooth youthful face. William sank to his knees beside the box, lightly stroking Sebastian’s cheek. He slowly smiled. He was perfect.

 

“He’ll be so happy…” William muttered as he took the box with the chip out of his coat pocket.

He looked at Grell, “Will you help me? I know what to do but I could use an extra pair of hands.”

“Oh… anything for you two.” Grell grabbed a box of different tools and knelt beside William.

 

“It won’t be long dearest…” William hummed, lightly stroking his fingers along Sebastian’s lips. “Soon…”

 

 

 

Sebastian opened his eyes. He appeared to find himself on a ship and had the odd experience of waking with several of his security systems offline and unable to connect to anything. He looked around, he didn’t seem to be stolen property, his owner was right there after all.

“Sebastian…” He heard. He looked at William attentively.

“Yes, sir?”

“I’m going to need you to change several of your emotional settings.”

 

What a strange request! However, he complied.

 

“Turn your pride up to 95% for starters.” He said plainly.

 

“Sir, I have to make you aware of the consequences that could arrive from you turning my…”

“I know, I know. Do it.”

 

“Ahh… Yes… sir… voice confirmation?”

“Dove.” He said plainly.

 

“Approved, anything else?” It was certainly odd, usually, humans liked their androids to have likable and non-negative traits. He knew he was going to have a difficult time figuring out his owner.

 

\--

 

It took significantly less time to bring Sebastian back. After all, William was a highly efficient android who already knew the proper steps to take, there was no way for Sebastian to run if something went wrong either. It had been two months, and by then they had been living on Proxima-Centauri for a week. He was careful to make sure he didn’t overload Sebastian’s system, he only really had one shot at this, but he succeeded. He held Sebastian just as he had done for him as he relived his life as everything was uploaded and changed in his robotic brain.

Then… after a long moment of silence, Sebastian slowly looked up a blinked at him.

 

“Will….”

 

“Yes, dearest? Have a nice nap?”

 

Sebastian briefly looked at him, then looked down at himself. He then grabbed William laughing giddily and spun him around.

 

A yelp of alarm left William’s mouth.

 

“Will! We’re… you’re!” Sebastian said giddily and put the other man down.

 

William brushed himself off and straightened his ruffled clothing. “Yes, we’re alive and well… at least in some sense.”

 

“You got away, I was so worried that you'd be found out and dismantled…” Sebastian said looking around their colony home with new eyes. He stopped and gazed happily at himself in a mirror, causing William to cross his arms and smirk at him.

 

“I was fine, thanks to Grell and the others....How did I know the first thing you would do would be to admire yourself in a mirror?”

 

Sebastian flipped his hair back dramatically. “Well how could I not? I’m…”

 

“Perfect… of course…” William took him by the hands and pulled him close. Kissing him slowly and deeply. Finally, truly together.

"Let's never do this to each other again." Sebastian mumbled against William's lips.

"Agreed." He smiled, enjoying the closeness he had already dearly missed.

William wrapped a arm around Sebastian’s waist, leading him out. “Come, the others will be dying to see you.”

 

“Ah, I wouldn’t want to keep the waiting then.”

\---

The two joined the others to celebrate Sebastian finally “arriving” to be there with them. Eventually, word got out that two androids had somehow managed to go ‘rogue’ and escape to a far-off colony. It became a legend between androids and humans. It had never been heard of before that two androids would run off together. It had been a simple step, but the waves had ripped out intensely for the rest of the world. The specifics of the story were never there, and William and Sebastian, upon learning they were somewhat of a legend wouldn’t dare comment or correct it so they could continue their anonymous life on a lone colony. It meant so much to androids, that when the Divergent rebellion came a thousand years afterward, they chose the symbol of two stars to represent the two lovers who had escaped to freedom in their own romanticized vision of freedom and life beyond servitude.

The true story may not hold as much meaning to others. But to them, and those closest to them, it meant the world. And they would stay, hand in hand, until the very universe itself, stopped existing, when all the possibilities of space and time had come to a close, and they eventually passed on into whatever lies after bodies decay and stars collapse, still intertwined. For forever and beyond, in one way or another.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's my little Sci-Fi AU all wrapped up! I'm proud of myself for finishing a story all the way through, and I'm hoping to give Sebawill more of the fics and AUs it deserves in future! I hope you enjoyed it, I would hope you did if you made it this far. Thanks for reading!


End file.
